During drilling operations, threaded lengths of drilling tubulars, such as drill pipe and casing, need to be assembled together or disassembled. For example, with drill pipe, the threaded joints between adjacent lengths of drill pipe must be tightened to a specified torque (made up) and then later unscrewed from one another (broken out) during the drilling process.
Though prior art makeup/breakout wrenches have worked efficiently in several applications, a need exists for an apparatus capable of clamping, holding and exerting high level torques on varying diameters of drilling tubulars, without allowing the tubulars to move or slip while clamped and held by the apparatus. More specific, the apparatus must be capable of holding and maintaining a certain orientation of the drilling tubular with respect to the grips of the apparatus to enable the drilling tubulars to be assembled with a required high level torque and to be disassembled safely.
In the use of existing wrenches, the problem of slippage between the tubular and the makeup/breakout wrenches has existed and is particularly acute in connection with small diameter drilling tubulars, where extremely high levels of friction between the jaws of the makeup/breakout wrenches and the drilling tubulars may be required.
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.